The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s delay in deciding his housing register application. This is because the injustice caused was not significant enough to justify our involvement.
The complaint
Mr X said the Council failed to assist him with rehousing. As a result, he says he is living in housing that does not meet his medical needs, which is also affecting his mental health.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide any injustice caused is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X made an application to join the Council’s housing register. The Council decided he did not qualify because he was adequately housed. It explained he could ask for a review of its decision if he disagreed it within 21 days. Mr X asked for a review, but his request was late. The Council’s email acknowledging the request said it would carry out a review by 3 June 2024. On 23 May, Mr X’s outreach worker told it Mr X wished to withdraw his application and apply for rehousing in another council area. Therefore, it did not complete the review.
In its response to his complaint, the Council acknowledged there was a delay in assessing his application because the officer it was initially assigned to was off sick for a long period. It apologised for the delay and poor communications.
Although, the delay in considering his housing register application caused some uncertainty for Mr X, it did not cause a significant injustice because he was initially not accepted onto the housing register and later withdrew his application. We will not consider the complaint further because there is insufficient injustice to justify our involvement.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient injustice to justify our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman